Juan Mosqueda

Juan MosquedaI read this book back when I was in middle school, and while I can't remember my exact thoughts on it, they were: I enjoyed it. Cut to years later, I'm an adult who's going through the bookshelf(s) of books (along with the mountain I have in my room) that I need to read and reread so I know what to donate and keep. To really get those books that resonate with me and find ones that say "you get me." Lo and behold, this jumped out at me. And by that, it fell. I got spooked. But I was pleased to find that it was something that I seemed to enjoy in a life that feels so long ago, I immediately got into rereading it to see how I feel now that the years have increased in number and now that I've grown a beard (I take good care of it. I think. I find beards majestic). So now, after rereading it, the best I can say is YEP it affected me on whole different levels this time around. Maybe it's due to me having taken care of my grandma before she made her graceful departure into the great beyond. It could be because my own mother had her struggles with a partner. Or maybe even that I had my own struggles with someone close to me that I may or may not have had some feelings for. I might be biased, but this book gets me. Kind of. I find this book to be a great and charming, if not quick, read. I'm glad I read this in middle school before I experienced experiences as well as after highschool after I experienced experiences. It's something that I feel anyone could and should pick up to read. It's not the most complicated thing in the world, but not everything needs to be complicated. Unless it's supposed to be complicated. This is the weirdest review I've written yet. Read it.

Juan MosquedaA zoologist entering the jungle of an unexplored location on a journey to save the world from nazis? This sounds familiar. And it's great. It's reminiscent of Indiana Jones, but instead of ancient artifacts, it's about animals. The journey from beginning to end is great. It features a protagonist who may not have a whip, but he has his wit about him. And it had me on the edge of my seat the whole way through. Highly recommended if you're looking for a good adventure story that feels like an old friend. P.S. There's also two more books that take place after this and you bet I'm gonna read them.

Juan MosquedaBook 2 in the Underland Chronicles by Suzanne Collins. The creator best known for The Hunger Games. I immediately got into this book as soon as I finished the first one again, and I'm pleased to say that this one sticks the landing better than the first one, and it does a little flip too. So that made me go "oooo". Honestly though, rereading this series, it's no Percy Jackson and it's no Harry Potter. There's no way it'll live up to the quality of those. But it's still greatly appreciated in that it's a fun, albeit surprisingly dark, romp. The story follows Gregor the Overlander in his second venture into the Underland after his sister was kidnapped as a ploy to get him running back, a la carrot-on-a-stick. Here, the second prophecy regarding him is revealed, and so, the second quest begins as this time and he has to make a fatally active decision. It has everything I loved about the first entry and it expands upon it tenfold. The pace is kept high, familiar faces come back for more and the story becomes more grim than the first one, which kid me was definitely fond of. Oh, and also, to improve upon the writing, the main character does make a lot more active decisions and isn't taken on a rollercoaster ride the whole time this go around so the pace of the story felt right. This is a solid sequel to a solid tutorial. Now I gotta go and find the rest of the books.

Juan MosquedaAs a kid in elementary school, this series was my jam. The butter on my bread. The ketchup on my fries. Nowadays, I'm more into dipping my fries into some mayonnaise, but I still appreciate ketchup. Gregor the Overlander is about an 11 year old boy named Gregor who falls into the Underland, a world teeming with life that includes: giant talking cockroaches, giant talking spiders, giant talking rats, humans that are the personification of what I'd look like if I accomplished my dream of never leaving the darkness of my own home, and much more. And in the Underland, there is a prophecy that involves Gregor, his sister and a cast of characters that you quickly grow fond of. As much hype as I had for the book back in my kid days, I feel that as an adult, I'm able to be more reasonable with my overwhelming excitement at the Underland Chronicles. In this book, it feels more like a tutorial of what's to come in future novels. For the most part, our hero gets taken here and there across the Underland and the quest doesn't begin until far in the second half of the book. We're given a tour of the most basic of basic in the Underland and it's prophecies. While I'd definitely prefer the protagonist have a little more say and power in where the story goes, I'm willing to let that issue slide for the sake of the rest of the series. Any kid will probably love this book so chuck it at one and hope it sticks the landing. It deserves to be read. P.S. There's a small guide on "creating your own Underland" that Suzanne Collins wrote at the end of the book and it could TOTALLY be used for some DnD roleplaying. For any DnD players out there, I hope you have a good time trying to make a good Underland campaign with this.

Juan MosquedaA murder mystery in the setting of Hell. That's all I needed to know to be interested in this book and it didn't disappoint. As angels arrive in Hell, so do a string of vicious murders beyond the likes of the disturbing norm that information man, Thomas Fool, and the rest of Hell, is used to. The journey takes Fool across all of Hell as we meet a cast of deliciously foul demons and loveable characters. And as Fool finds himself getting deeper and deeper into the grime, he begins to change the world around himself. For better or worse.

Juan MosquedaThis book has a history of failures. Failures because of what content the story holds, the content in question being: A class of middle schoolers are kidnapped and forced to participate in a yearly game that is broadcasted on television, to kill each other until one is left standing. And in brutal bloody fashion, this book takes off. This book isn't for the faint of heart as the depictions of the violence and gore are as stomach churning as the seemingly carefree, almost playful, style of writing is. At a certain point, I found myself thinking that the gore wasn't as bad as it was in the beginning, but then I came to the realization that the gore is still there. It's still terrifying. But, just like the kids in the story, I'm simply getting used to it. It tugged at my heart, poked at my brain, and forced me to hope beyond hope in the desperate situation of the story. This story became the flagship of the "battle royale" genre of The Hunger Games and video games such as Fortnite. For anyone who loves a battle royale story, I recommend the one that started it all and, in my opinion, the one that continues to reign supreme.